Now, those that read my review of Busta Rhymes' When Disaster Strikes... may have noticed that I mentioned an album by a certain Rampage the Last Boy Scout with a rather ridiculous title, and yet I hadn't actually covered the album on this site. Well, since the next step in the the Busta discography is the Flipmode Squad album The Imperial, I figured I'd better cover this Flipmode solo album first, and so here we go.
For those who are unaware, Rampage is Busta Rhymes' cousin, a man who had made promising appearances throughout the '90s on songs such as Leaders Of the New School's "Spontaneous (13 MC's Deep)", Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)", and even his own single, "Beware Of the Rampsack", released on Rowdy Records for an album he was supposed to release called Red Oktoba. However, after Busta Rhymes was signed to Elektra with a solo deal, he took Ramp along with him, and any other recordings for the mysterious Red Oktoba album were left to collect dust in the Rowdy Records basement. It's a shame he didn't get to release that album, as Red Oktoba was certainly a better album title than Scouts Honor... By Way Of Blood, and would almost certainly have better artwork than the monstrosity that we ended up with. Perhaps the main reason that this album only managed to chart at no. 65 on the Billboard 200, and failed to even sell Gold, despite the backup from the incredibly popular Busta Rhymes, was because of that horrific imagery of a man apparently moaning with pain into a giant condom. The Rampage logo is nice, but that's all I can say. This is arguably the worst hip-hop album cover of all time.
However, a quick look at the liner notes would dismiss worries quickly. As well as the expected guest appearances from Busta Rhymes and Flipmode Squad (including Serious, who was kicked out after Busta released When Disaster Strikes... a couple of months later), we had production from DJ Scratch, Rashad Smith and Backspin the Vibe Chemist, three of the chaps that had made Busta Rhymes' debut (released over a year before this album) so good sonically. The lead single released to radio ("Take It To the Streets") had admittedly sounded a bit like dog shit, but that track was clearly meant as a radio-friendly pop track, and the rest of this album wasn't taking that direction at all. However, the album wasn't too well received by the smattering of people that actually heard it, with a lot of people criticising Rampage's lyrics and delivery, which is something I've never had a problem with. But can his loud, RZA-esque delivery entertain us for a whole album, or is this going to be as terrible as the cover art suggests it will be? Let's take a look.
1. Intro (prod. D.J. Scratch)
Rampage is clearly taking inspiration from his more successful relative Trevor Smith, what with this pretentious three part intro and all. This intro is even more self-absorbed than the usual Busta intro - at least Busta usually appears to be saying something about the end of the world. The beat from DJ Scratch in the Part 2 here is bloody excellent though.
2. Flipmode Iz Da Squad (feat. Da Flipmode Squad starring: Spliff Star, Serious, Busta Rhymes & Lord Have Mercy) (prod. D.J. Scratch)
Aside from the beat being surprisingly underwhelming, this is actually a really good crew track. Rampage brings it with his verse, spitting some fairly clever bars, and then the ear-splitting Serious verse comes in, which is just hilarious. I never much cared for Spliff Star, but I will admit that he delivers one of his better verses on here. Busta Rhymes sounds very much like his When Disaster Strikes... self, which is to say very bloody good, and Lord Have Mercy also sounds very interesting. As I said, the beat could do with a bit more menace, but otherwise this was a good posse cut. The inclusion of it as the first song is questionable, though - shouldn't Rampage do the first track alone?
3. Da Night B4 My Shit Drop (feat. Alan Scott Plotkin) (prod. Rashad Smith)
For those wondering, Alan Scott Plotkin is actually just playing a journalist on here, rather than being a musical contributor. The beat from Rashad Smith is funky as hell, and the interview skit at the start is funny as well. Rampage does his best to emulate Busta Rhymes on here, with a more animated and manic delivery than usual, and he pulls it off well - his lyricism sounds similar to Redman on Dare Iz a Darkside. This track is excellent - my only complaint is that it should be longer. Great stuff. The skit on the end, which plays the later track "We Getz Down (Remix)" in the background, is entertaining enough as well - better than most Busta skits, that's for sure.
4. Talk Of the Town (prod. D.J. Scratch)
Rampage takes some bars from his verse on Busta's "Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad" for a hook, and raps over a rather dark and melancholy piano beat. This track almost reminds me of something Wu-Tang Clan would rhyme over on Wu-Tang Forever - it just has that same dark and dull sound. This track is good, but I feel like Rampage needs a bit more interesting lyrical content at this point - his voice would be perfect for more serious topics, but on this song, he seems hell-bent on painting himself as some kind of merciless murderer, which is a shame.
5. Get The Money And Dip (feat. Busta Rhymes) (prod. D.J. Scratch)
6. The Set Up (prod. Rashad Smith)
This beat is relaxing as hell, and reminds me of the "Ill Vibe" beat from Busta's debut, only even more low-key if that's possible. The hook actually rips some lines from Redman's "Tonight's Da Night" - "no matter who you are, you'll still catch a bullet scar" - which I find very interesting. Another interesting point is that Busta Rhymes is echoing Ramp in the background with a deep voice filter on, or at least I think it's Busta Rhymes. This track is great, and actually better than a Nas song with the same title, quite a feat from a rapper who is admittedly not nearly as good as Nas. The skit at the end was quite funny as well. "That smells like a bucket of ass, dude".
7. Wild For Da Night (feat. Busta Rhymes) (prod. Backspin the Vibe Chemist)
Again, Busta only pops up for the hook, but in this instance I actually don't care. This beat, the final one done by Backspin the Vibe Chemist on a mainstream album, is incredible, with the poignant and powerful piano loop being perfect backing for Busta to scream over. Rampage sounds calmer on this one than how he does on the rest of the album, a good decision, as it contrasts from the incredibly animated Busta chorus. This song is a classic, and easily one of the best on this whole album. I can't look past the line "shittin' Ex-Lax", but the rest of the song makes it worth it. Excellent stuff.
8. Flipmode Enemy #1 (feat. Serious) (prod. D.J. Scratch)
Looks like the maniacal Serious is back, and for a rather unexpected cover to Public Enemy's classic track "Public Enemy No. 1", with the same beat and all. Rampage rocks this beat well, and Serious has a good voice for the interludes throughout this track, even though he sadly doesn't contribute a verse. That skit with Spliff Star on the end is bloody horrific, though.
9. Take It To The Streets (feat. Billy Lawrence) (prod. Rashad Smith, co-prod. Armando Colon)
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10. Conquer Da World (feat. Meka) (prod. D.J. Scratch)
I believe Meka is a Flipmode affiliate who never was actually invited to join the crew - she did appear a couple of times on Busta Rhymes' later effort It Ain't Safe No More..., the second album in his catalogue to use ellipsis in the title, but was nowhere to be found anywhere else outside of this track, where she merely repeats the words "so what ya sayin' son" on the hook (which also has a repeated sample of Eric B. & Rakim's "Put Your Hands Together"). This is pretty solid, with a good beat, but the repetitive hook is rather annoying if I'm perfectly honest.
11. Hall Of Fame (prod. D.J. Scratch)
These song concepts really aged well, didn't they. I mean, you can't turn on a News channel nowadays without hearing something about the adventures of Rampage the Last Boy Scout. The beat on here is nice as hell, though, with the intense bells giving a dope vibe, and the bassline bringing that menacing energy. I don't think Rampage quite deserves to be "awarded to be in the Hall Of Fame", but a little more recognition would be nice - this is just some dope-ass hip-hop. The shout to The Notorious B.I.G. (RIP) is interesting as well - Rampage and Biggie probably did know each other, since they were in the "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" video together.
12. Niggaz Iz Bad (feat. Serious) (prod. Rashad Smith)
The third Serious appearance, and it's OK. The beat sounds very mainstream, almost like a Bad Boy production, but the rapping is as far from mainstream as you can get. Rampage brings back the manic delivery that he used on "Da Night B4 My Shit Drop", and it sounds great, and it's even better that he only uses it in moderation. Busta pops up in the middle here, too, which was fun. I enjoyed the Serious verse too - I'm still annoyed he never got a solo album. This beat is a bit meh, but this track is still good anyway.
13. We Getz Down (Remix) (prod. Teddy Riley, co-prod. Sprague "Doggie" Williams)
Sounds weirdly radio-friendly, what with the talk box that sounds similar to that stuff that Roger Troutman did on 2Pac's "California Love", and the chilled out beat. This track appears to be a remix to another song that was released prior to this album as a single, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm honest. This is still good, though, if a bit weird. I wonder who did the talk box.
14. Rampage Outro (prod. D.J. Scratch)
Rampage goes a slightly different route to the usual Busta album here, talking over a completely new beat, rather than reusing the one from the intro. This beat is not great, but the allusion to Busta Rhymes' upcoming album When Disaster Strikes... was appreciated, so that's something.
Overall, Scouts Honor... By Way Of Blood is not quite as enjoyable as I remember it being, but it's still pretty damn good for the most part. The album remains entertaining throughout, with the exception of a couple of tracks, and Rampage is consistently stellar on the mic, with all of his verses hitting, and his versatility remaining interesting, especially on "Da Night B4 My Shit Drop" and "Niggaz Iz Bad". The main issue with this album is beats and hooks. Don't get me wrong, some of the choruses are great and epic, such as the ones on "Wild For Da Night" and "Flipmode Iz Da Squad", but a lot of them sound like shit, and even some of the better songs here are bought down by annoying and overly self-confident choruses ("Conquer Da World", "Hall Of Fame"). Some of the beats are crap as well, and there is one song on here that could be described as outright terrible. Despite my criticisms, though, I would still recommend a listen, especially if you're a fan of Busta Rhymes. The good songs here are phenomenal, and the project will keep you entertained throughout the runtime, which is more than can be said for some of Busta Rhymes' later albums. Also, mad respect to Busta for getting his man's debut out before he even put out his own sophomore effort. That's a true friend right there. This is a great album, and once you've listened to Busta's first three albums, I would definitely dive into this one. It's not perfect, but it's damned underrated, that's for sure. Just try and turn a blind eye to the cover art.
Best Tracks: Flipmode Iz Da Squad, Da Night B4 My Shit Drop, Talk Of The Town, The Set Up, Wild For Da Night, Hall Of Fame
Worst Tracks: Take It To The Streets, Conquer Da World
You may also enjoy:
Busta Rhymes - When Disaster Strikes...
Image for "Get the Money and Dip" taken from Discogs
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